FERRIDAY — When Wilkinson County head coach Kenneth Brown went to school this week, he heard the nickname — The Air Show — being tossed around, alluding to his Wildcat team that ranked second nationally in passing according to Max Preps.

Brown rolled with the nickname, and he rolled into Ferriday Friday night with seasoned quarterback Desmond Hunter leading the charge. Hunter didn’t disappoint, throwing for 385 yards in a 45-26 win against the Trojans.

“That’s what we do,” Brown said.

On the opposite sideline, Ferriday continued to be its own worst enemy, committing eight turnovers and 13 penalties — two of which erased two Trojan touchdowns and led to Ferriday turning the ball over on downs. The loss came on homecoming night, and though Ferriday head coach Dwight Woods was dealing with distractions all week, he refused to place the blame for the loss anywhere but on himself.

“I take responsibility for it,” Woods said. “We had a lot of distractions that have interfered with what’s going on. I’m not going to blame it on penalties or turnovers. We had a bad week of practice, and it’s my job to get us prepared and ready to go.”

Hunter and the Wildcats jumped all over the Trojans early, taking a 21-0 lead early in the second quarter. Hunter found Travion Jones on a 1-yard strike in the first quarter before connecting with Juan Anthony on a 50-yarder later in the quarter. Hunter and the Wildcats went up 21-0 after he found Jones again, this time on a 4-yard pass.

After the Wildcats first score, it looked as though Ferriday was going to answer as Malik Hampton broke loose on a 59-yard run before fumbling the football into the end zone and turning the ball. The fumble was one of four fumbles the Trojans lost during the night.

Meanwhile, Hunter was poised in the pocket and got rid of the football as quick as he could to avoid the big Ferriday rush.

“I was trying to sit back there and stand my ground,” Hunter said.

Though the rush got to him early — Ferriday’s Sam Johnson forced a sack fumble in the first quarter — the Wildcats offense was able to still produce one big play after another.

“He took a lot of heat,” Brown said of Hunter. “Those guys are big. I told my big guys, ‘Man, I thought you were big until you walked upside (Dare Rosenthal).’ They’re big and athletic.”

Ferriday got back into the game when quarterback Ronald Williams dialed up Ja’Shon Foster for a 28-yard strike, making the game 21-6. Jones was guarding Foster all night, going both ways and barely coming off the field. Brown said he chose to implore that matchup because of Jones’ speed and leaping ability, and the matchup provided Jones an interception in the first quarter.

“He gave me a good matchup so I had to come with it,” Jones said.

Ferriday recorded an interception of its own in the second quarter, when freshman safety Dionntae Dishta leaped in the air, tipped the ball in the end zone with one hand and secured the bobble. Dishta then looked up the field and returned the interception 103 yards to make the game 21-14.

Hunter and company went back to work, dialing up Anthony, Jones and Robert Swint on a 64-yard drive that culminated in a 2-yard Hunter rush.

Hunter completed 27 of 44 for 385 yards and four total touchdowns, including two interceptions. Anthony recorded 11 catches for 152 yards and Jones caught seven passes for 109 yards. Turnovers and penalties would keep Ferriday’s comeback at bay the rest of the night.

“(The Air Show) was as advertised,” Woods said. “They were good. Those Mississippi Valley colors reminded me of the old days of Jerry Rice and the gunslingers.”

In the loss, Williams completed 24 of 42 for 325 yards, but threw four interceptions. Foster led the team with six catches for 149 yards. Hampton recorded 89 rushing yards on nine carries.

Wilkinson County, now 3-3 after playing multiple 5A opponents, will enter district play Friday against Franklin County, while Ferriday (3-1) will host Washington-Marion.